CMS Survey Shows Decrease in Nursing Home Deficiencies

The Nursing Home Data Compendium for 2015 was published March 25, 2016 and showed the percentage of nursing homes with deficiency-free surveys is increasing; this data was collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Compendium includes data on nursing home characteristics, survey results and resident information which was gathered through the CASPER database for survey and certification information, population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the Minimum Data Set. Data based on nursing home surveys from 2005 -2008 found the likelihood of a nursing home receiving at least one health deficiency increased during that period, but reversed after that time.

Five years later, the percentage of nursing homes without deficiencies increased from 8.8% in 2009 to 10.2% in 2014. There has also been a decrease in the amount of surveys finding substandard quality of care from 4.4% in 2008 to 3.2% in 2014. The compendium also includes a list of the most frequently cited health deficiencies found on surveys from 2005 to 2014. The top deficiencies were storing and cooking food in a safe and clean way, ensuring the facility is free of accident hazards, providing adequate supervision to prevent accidents, providing necessary care to improve resident well-being and having a program that investigates and controls the spread of infections.

Overall, CMS found a slight decline in the number of nursing homes over the last decade; however 19 states showed an increase in the number of facilities.